From time immemorial, man has utilized portable lanterns to light his way in the dark. For many years, the light source for lanterns was light emitted by flames or the combustion of flammable materials. Upon the advent of electric cells or batteries and the advent of incandescent lamps, the light source in many lanterns has been battery-powered incandescent lamps. With the more recent advent of fluorescent tubes, those in the art of manufacturing lanterns have turned to the use of battery-powered fluorescent tubes to generate desired light.
A large percentage of lanterns now being produced are specially made for use by outdoorsmen or campers to light campsites. To that end, lanterns with battery-powered fluorescent tubes have proven to be highly effective and efficient and are fast becoming the most favored form or class of lanterns.
In addition to lighting campsites, at night, and to thereby enable campers to find their way about their campsites, lanterns serve to prevent or discourage wild animals, as well as uninvited humans, from entering and pillaging campsites. While the foregoing is an extremely valuable purpose or end that can be attained by the use of lanterns, it can seldom be utilized since the battery power that is available to energize the lanterns is quite limited and is such that it must be used sparingly. That is, if a lantern is left on (illuminated) throughout the night for the purpose of discouraging potential intruders, the supply of power afforded by the batteries is likely to be completely exhausted well before the night has passed. In such a case, a lantern is rendered useless for its intended purpose, should the generating of light be required. Accordingly, electric camp lanterns are necessarily used frugally to conserve of power and in a manner that light is only generated when it is truly needed.
Another notable shortcoming that exists in camp lanterns with battery-powered fluorescent tubes resides in the fact that the light emitted from such tubes is soft and diffused light and is such that it is often not so bright, sharp and crisp that it will illuminate a limited area with sufficient light to enable persons to comfortably read or do close work. Accordingly, when concentrated light, sufficient to do close work is required, special lanterns equipped with light reflectors that concentrate light generated by the tubes, are provided.
When concentrated light is required and lanterns without light reflectors are all that are available, it is common practice by many persons to jerry-rig reflectors of aluminum foil or the like and position those reflectors adjacent or about the lanterns in efforts to attain desired lighting effects.
Yet another shortcoming to be found in lanterns of the general class here concerned with resides in the fact that when it is required to replace or otherwise service the tubes of the lanterns, the lanterns must be disassembled to a substantial extent. For example, multiplicities of screw fasteners utilized to secure the parts of the lanterns together must be removed to effect disassembly of the lanterns and to gain access to the tubes thereof, for replacement purposes. To effect the replacement of tubes in such lanterns often requires the exercise of considerable skill and, all too frequently, results in the losing and/or damaging of parts.